𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚎 | Treasure Haruto

-40-

Yuri's POV

"I'm going to be fine. Just wait for me here, alright?" I gave Haruto a kind smile, and he nodded and leaned on his car.

I'm currently standing in front of my mother's house, and fortunately, reporters were not permitted to enter the village. We saw some trying to go inside but the guards blocked them.

"Is mother here?" I asked one of my mother's maids who is currently watering the plants. She nodded at me and turned off the hose to guide me towards the house.

"She's at the library, Ma'am Yuri." I smiled at the maid and whispered thank you then opened the door of the library. My mom is just sitting on the couch, looking at one of our photo albums and if I'm not wrong, it's the one full of my father's pictures.

"I've done a lot of things to our daughter, Rino. So much that I can't even try to face her and comfort her at times like this because of guilt." Tears were coming out of her eyes, making my eyes water too.

"I didn't know that the Kim family will be too controlling... I... really wanted to tell her about the death of her son but they told me not to or they'll cut ties with us."

My eyes widened upon hearing that she knew what Doyoung did. That's why she didn't visit me in Australia?

"I was too focused on reviving the company... your hard work. I was scared that your efforts will be wasted. Now that their company is falling apart, I can't help but feel happy even when it will affect ours too." 

My tears started to fall as she hugged my father's photobook. The door then creaked, making me cover my mouth in shock.

"Yu-Yuri?" My mother called out my name as she stood up and slowly walked towards me. When she was finally right in front of me, she wrapped me in her embrace, and strangely, I felt secure.

Ever since she told me that she will marry me off, I can only feel fear towards her but now, I feel safe.

"I-I'm sorry for everything I've done. I've done a lot of miserable things to you... I know that you might never forgive but I hope you will allow me to help you..." A smile crept on my lips as I nodded, making her smile too. 

I then told her that I'm planning to stay in Japan until the people's attention is not focused on our issue anymore. She didn't even hesitate to say yes and even told me to just ask her if ever I need something.

"Are you going with Haruto?" She asked and I nodded. 

"While you're with him, observe your feelings. Sometimes, a mother's real feelings are just overshadowed by thoughts of doing the best for her family. Like wanting a complete family for a child, Yuri."

I immediately understood what she's talking about. She's implying that I'm probably feeling obligated to love Doyoung because we had Dohyun. 

"This time, whatever choice you make, I'll support you." She patted the back of my head and held my left hand tightly.

"Thank you... Mom. I'll send you the address of the house I'll be staying in so please... make sure to visit me, alright?" She excitedly nodded and then I told her that I need to leave because Haruto is currently outside waiting for me.

"Well then, I'll just bring you until here because Haruto might get shy when he sees me." I waved goodbye to her, opened the small gate and saw Haruto leaning on his car, shoes tapping on the ground.

"What happened? What did she say?" Nervousness is obvious in his tone so I told him right away that my mother supported me in my decision. 

Suddenly, he pulled me into a hug, making my heart race. When he drew out of the hug, he's smiling widely and it seemed like his eyes are telling mine to just stare at him.

"I-I'm sorry. I just got too excited. There's just a lot of things that I wanted to do with you in Japan." He took a step backward and released an awkward chuckle so I took his hand to hold it tightly and showed him a smile.

"It's okay, Haruto. Let's do all of it."

---

Hello everyone! I don't know if you noticed or if I ever did then please correct me but I never asked for votes, right? But this time, I would like to ask for a little time to include my grandfather in your prayers. 

I visited him last June 10 (that's why I wasn't able to update yesterday) and he's gotten so weak that sitting with the help of other people still makes him feel tired. I can see in his eyes that he still wants to do a lot of things and its making my heart ache.

That's all and I hope you enjoyed this update.

-Erica